Strange Feelings
by CT
Summary: Benny and Smalls discover some new feelings. How do they react? Like males, of course. SLASH. Don't like, don't read. Rating just to be safe.


A/N: Wow, I feel privileged. I'm the first one to post a Sandlot story here (at least in its own category). It's short, and possibly stupid and contains slash, so please don't complain to me, because I have warned you. Feedback is greatly appreciated.

Oh, and I don't own any of the characters (except for Marcie and Benny's brother) but if you'd like to donate them…

15-year-old Benjamin Franklin Rodriguez, also know as Benny, smiled as he looked at the question on the paper. He and Scott Smalls were in their last exam before summer; English. They were supposed to write an essay on the question before them. But Benny didn't need to write an essay. One word summed it up nicely.

_What is life?_

Baseball

Standing, Benny picked up his paper, walked to the front of the room and gave it to the surprised teacher. He took a moment to smile and give a thumbs up to Smalls before leaving the room. He stopped at his locker to grab his ball, glove and bat, then sat outside waiting for Smalls.

He was itching to get to the Sandlot to meet up with Ham, Yeah Yeah and Squints but he'd promised to wait for Smalls and he never went back on his word. Benny sat there tossing the ball in the air, thinking maybe agreeing to wait was a bad idea. Smalls was the 'brain' of the group and could sit there for hours writing the perfect essay.

"You know," a feminine voice interrupted his thoughts, "walking out of there was not the brightest idea."

Benny looked up to see Marcie James looking down at him with a smirk on her face. He just shrugged.

"I answered the question." He replied then went back to tossing his ball.

"You know, they have a showing of The Producers at the auditorium tomorrow. Would you like to take me?"

Once again Benny shrugged. "Sure."

"Great. Pick me up at 2."

As she walked off, Smalls ran out of the building. "So, baseball huh? Now, just out of curiosity, are you trying to fail English?"

Benny grinned. "Hey, I answered the question. Baseball _**is **_life."

"Yeah, yeah…okay, I didn't **_not_** just say that."

"Yeah you did man." Benny nudged Smalls then started running, laughing all the while. Smalls shook his head with an indulgent smile and followed after him.

When they finally slowed to walking, Smalls asked, "So what did Marcie want?"

"She asked me to the movies tomorrow." Benny replied indifferently.

Smalls sighed, exasperated. "Only you could not care that the hottest girl in our year asked you out. Let me guess, you're trying to find a way to play ball before you go huh?"

Benny shook his head, no, while secretly thinking, '_How the hell did he know that?_' when Smalls continued to stare at him incredulously, he rolled his eyes. "Okay, so maybe I was. But tomorrow is Ham's last day with us. I mean, he and I started this whole thing with Denunez, and now I'm gonna be the only one left. I hate it when the guys move away."

Smalls wished he could say something to cheer Benny up, but as upset as _**he**_ was, he knew Benny was feeling worse. He _**had**_ know the guys longer. "The movie starts at 2.30 right? Well, you'll be out by 4, which means we can have an afternoon game before the sleep out."

"Geez Smalls. That's brilliant." Benny said clapping Smalls on the shoulder. "I didn't think of that."

Smalls grinned. "That's why they call me the brains and not you." He commented before running off. Benny grinned too then took off after him.

* * *

"Come on Benny, we want details. Did you kiss her?" Squints asked while doing the whole 'nudge, nudge. Wink, wink' thing. 

"Yeah yeah Benny. Tell us."

The five boys were lounging in the tree house, eating smores and reminiscing about the school year when the topic of Marcie came up.

"We kissed." Benny said with a shrug.

"Score!" Yeah Yeah and Ham exclaimed, exchanging hi-fives.

"So what was it like?" Squints inquired.

At this point Smalls stood and walked to the door. "I'm gonna take some smores down to Hercules." He informed them before leaving. (A/N: I should mention, yes I know dogs shouldn't eat chocolate, let's just ignore that fact.) He'd been quiet since Marcie's name had been mentioned, so he doubted anyone would notice he was gone. He knew Benny was the only one who heard, or cared, where he was going. They were too interested in Marcie.

Not that he hated her or anything. It's just…well…he wasn't sure. He was beginning to think that maybe, he was starting to really like Benny. He knew it was wrong. Apart from Benny being a boy, he was his best friend. And you just didn't fall for your best friend.

"Hey boy, you hungry?" Smalls asked sitting next to Hercules. They still hadn't repaired the fence. There was no need to. He laid the smores down for Hercules to eat and began patting his head. "So, what do you do when you've finally gone crazy?"

"Well you seem to talk to dogs. Do you really expect an answer?" Benny answered, surprising him. He took a seat on the other side of Hercules and imitated Smalls by patting him.

"Oh, no. I'm just…"

"It's okay man. I'm only teasing. So, what's made you crazy?"

Smalls began to blush. "Nothing. Don't worry about it. So, why'd you come down? Aren't you supposed to be reliving your date?"

"I made up some story to keep them dreaming for about a week. I told them how good it felt. But I knew I could come down and talk to you without you thinking I was crazy. The kiss…it was…ordinary. I know I'm not some expert on kissing, but I always thought it'd be more exciting than it was." Benny shrugged. "Maybe it's just me."

Smalls thought about this for a moment. "Well, did you enjoy the rest of the date?"

Benny ducked his head. "Would it be horrible to say I enjoyed it when she shut up? Every time I opened my mouth, she'd cut me off."

Smalls smiled. He knew why Marcie cut him off. The only thing Benny talked about was baseball. He would blurt out facts about the game or the players at random moments of silence. Smalls still found them interesting, he was always eager to learn something new, but everyone else had grown tired of it years ago.

The silence between the 2 was comforting. Neither felt the need to break it, both content in listening to the slobbering and chewing from Hercules. Smalls spent the time just watching Benny. He was sitting there cross-legged, his black button-up shirt almost falling off his left shoulder, hands playing with the sand in front of him. The fading sun was casting a glow on his olive skin and Smalls decided he was falling way too fast.

"Well, come on. The guys are probably wondering where we are." Benny said, standing. "And hey, thanks man. For not telling me I'm being stupid over the whole Marcie thing."

Smalls grinned. "Doesn't mean I wasn't thinking it."

Benny shook his head. "Ham'll be impressed. You've done nothing but insult me since yesterday." Smalls just grinned wider and ran off, leaving Benny to wonder why he felt a tiny flutter in his stomach.

* * *

"And then there were 4." Squints observed as the group met at the Sandlot 2 days later. With sombre faces, the guys moved into position for practise. They'd only just gotten into the rhythm of things when Marcie and a group of her friends walked up. 

"Come on guys, just ignore them." Benny said when Yeah Yeah and Squints stopped to stare. "Squints, back to me." He sighed in disgust when the ball went sailing over Squints' head. Giving up, he walked over to Marcie, noticing the guys following him. Except Smalls. He walked over to Hercules.

"Hey boy. Who does she think she is? Interrupting our game like that… I'm jealous aren't I?" Smalls looked over to where Benny and Marcie were talking. Marcie was giggling and running her hand up Benny's arm. "Oh yeah. I'm jealous." Looking back between Marcie and Hercules, he grinned deviously. "Hey boy…"

* * *

"Hi Benny." Marcie greeted sickeningly sweet. 

"Hey Marcie." He replied indifferently. "What are you doing here?"

Marcie smiled sweetly. "I thought we'd come and watch you guys play. I enjoyed the other night so much I thought we could do it again today." She said with a giggle while running her hand up his arm. "We could see…"

Whatever they could see was never mentioned as Marcie was cut off by Hercules jumping on her and covering her face with licks. Benny and the others began laughing as Marcie started squealing.

"Oh I'm sorry. He gets over excited. I should have kept a better hold on him." Smalls apologised with fake sincerity as he pulled Hercules off her.

"Ooh! That beast should be chained up. Letting it free like that!" she shrieked. The boys smiled at the irony of what she said. "Benny, take me home."

Benny was about to tell her to go home by herself but he suddenly felt guilty for not liking her like she liked him. And it was his fault she was slobbered on. "Okay. I'll see you tomorrow guys."

As Smalls watched them walk off hand in hand, he scowled internally. He was starting to regret what he'd done. While he did enjoy seeing Marcie flat on her arse, the end result was not as he'd planned. Didn't Benny find her annoying anyway?

"Well great. Now what do we do?" Squints cried.

* * *

"Hey Scotty, what are you doing out here?" Mrs Smalls asked as she walked up the front path, arms laden with groceries. 

Smalls looked at his watch and sighed. "Nothing. Just sitting. Here, let me help you." He took one of the bags from his mother and took one last look at the empty street before following her inside.

"So why aren't you out playing baseball with the boys?"

Smalls shrugged indifferently. "Benny was busy."

Mrs Smalls eyes widened in surprise. "Benny was busy?"

"Yeah, he has a girlfriend." He replied then walked to his bedroom. If he didn't hate Marcie before, he sure as hell did now. If he and Benny made plans, Benny NEVER not showed up. Well, he did once, but that was only because he came down with a bad case of the flu after practising his batting skills in the rain all day.

"Scotty, mind if I come in?" Mrs Smalls interrupted his thoughts. "I think we need to have a talk." When Smalls nodded, she walked into the room and sat on the desk chair. "Now, I know this is an awkward time for you. You're growing up and realising that girls are there for more than picking on." At this point Smalls hid his face in his hands. He did _**not**_ want to be having this conversation. "And it's only natural for you to be jealous when your best friend gets a girlfriend before you."

"Mum, I'm not jealous of Benny because he has a girlfriend." '_No_,' he thought, '_I'm jealous of said girlfriend because she has my Benny_'. He then decided that was the most stupid thing he'd ever thought. "Honestly Mum. I'm not." he added when Mrs Smalls looked at him dubiously.

"Okay then."

* * *

"And I was thinking maybe you should join the Tigers. You've more than enough talent." Marcie commented as she and Benny shared a milkshake at the corner store. "I mean, you can't very well play at the Sandlot for the rest of your life." 

Benny looked at her scandalised. "Why can't I?"

Marcie shot him an impatient look that mothers sometimes give their children when they've asked the stupidest question in the world, and now have to answer. "Because you're not playing to your full potential with those boys and their substandard abilities."

Benny scowled. "The guys play better than any of the members from the Tigers."

Marcie discreetly rolled her eyes. It was obviously not going as planned. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to insult their skills, but you'll never be noticed if you keep playing in that stupid sandlot."

"You know Marcie, maybe you should go share your opinion with someone who cares." Benny replied, standing. "I'll see you around."

As Benny walked home he began to realise that maybe Marcie was right. He wouldn't be seen, playing in an old lot that was so out of the way that some people didn't even know about it. But even with that knowledge, Benny couldn't even _**think**_ about leaving the guys. He needed to talk to Smalls, and now.

Walking up to the door, he gently knocked on the screen. "Hi Mrs Smalls. Is Scott in?"

Mrs Smalls smiled. "Sure. Come on in. I'll go get him for you."

"No, that's okay. I'll wait out here." He answered before sitting on the step. A moment later, Smalls walked out.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Do I know you?" he asked, feigning ignorance. He was still upset Benny had ditched him without so much as an excuse.

"Geez Smalls. Are you alright man?" Benny asked worriedly. He stood and went to check Smalls' temperature, but his hand was batted away.

Smalls gave him a sadistic smile. "You know, that sounds like something my buddy Benny would say. But you can't be him. He was supposed to be here 2 hours ago."

A look of realisation, then guilt, crossed Benny's features. "I completely forgot." He said as Smalls walked back inside. "I'm real sorry man!" he called after him. He sighed when Smalls didn't acknowledge him. "Damnit!" He yelled kicking the step.

* * *

Benny rolled over. He couldn't sleep. He kept seeing the dejected look on Smalls' face when he said he'd forgotten about their movie plans. You didn't do that to your best friend. Ever. But Benny was beginning to wonder if that was all. For some reason, he felt worse because it was Smalls and that confused him. Benny looked up to see the picture of him and Smalls after Smalls had hit his 2nd home run (him not being able to celebrate his 1st for obvious reasons). They were smiling and had their arms around each other, posing for the camera. And as girly as it was to have a picture like that out and framed, he couldn't bear to put it away. 

"This is ridiculous. Tomorrow, I'm going to apologise and make sure he forgives me."

* * *

Benny sighed. He'd tried to apologise to Smalls earlier, but his efforts had been futile. Smalls had closed the door on him. Not that Benny blamed him. He had an hour before he had to meet the guys and he was _**not**_ going to turn up without Smalls. 

Benny tried to think of a game they'd played without Smalls, but couldn't think of one. And that made him feel worse. Smalls had never let him down. And then he went and ditched him for a girl he didn't even like.

Determined, Benny walked back to Smalls' house. He went around the to Smalls' window and rapped on the glass. Smalls looked up from his erector set but didn't move to open the window. Benny rolled his eyes and opened the window he knew Smalls never locked.

"Look, I know you're angry with me man, but you're going to hear me out." When Smalls didn't close the window or tell him to get lost, he took this as a sign to continue. "I'm really sorry I forgot about our plans yesterday. It was a really rotten thing for me to do and while I have no excuse for doing it, it'll still never happen again. You're my best friend. C'mon, I even jumped over that fence for you."

Smalls sat there thinking. He knew Benny was sorry. He was just overreacting. He was, however, not letting Benny off that easy. He brought up Hercules as a way to guilt him into forgiving him. He looked over to the mitt on his desk. Well, okay, maybe he would let Benny off easy. He was itching to go play some ball.

"Alright, you win. Just don't bring up the baseball thing in a fight again. That's like cheating." Smalls commented as he reached for his glove. "Let's go."

As the two walked to the Sandlot, Benny began to wonder why he used the baseball incident to help his case. It _**was**_ low, and he hadn't meant to do it, yet, he still did. He tried to remember why he jumped over the fence to 'pickle the beast' anyway. He remembered what Bebe had said to him, "Just follow your heart kid and you can never go wrong". He knew he had to get the ball, and he knew the only way to do that was to jump over the fence. But Benny still didn't understand _**why**_ he had to do it. It had something to do with Smalls; that much he knew. He just had to figure out what.

"Penny for your thoughts?" Smalls interrupted his musing. Benny looked over to see Smalls smiling. It made him seem so...sweet. And cute. As much as Benny didn't want to admit it, he was beginning to think his best friend was cute. Did that have something to do with his heroics years before?

"It's nothing. I'm just thinking of ways that we can play ball now there's only four of us."

Smalls seemed to accept this. And really, why shouldn't he? All Benny did was think about baseball. Well, until recently that is.

When they reached the Sandlot, Yeah Yeah and Squints were throwing a ball back and forth. When Yeah Yeah spotted the two, he dropped the ball in faux shock.

"Squints, do you see that? Benny chose us over Marcie. What's the world coming to?"

"Funny. Really. Stop." Benny responded, deadpanned. "Let's just play ball."

* * *

"Hi Benny." Marcie greeted as she walked up to him. They were standing around the food table at the 4th July street party; Benny waiting for the night game, Marcie looking for Benny. 

"Hey Marcie." Benny replied looking up, finally seeing Marcie. She was dressed in a formal blue dress with her hair pinned up nicely and she was wearing makeup. "You look nice."

Marcie blushed. "I was hoping you would join me in a walk to the lake."

Benny looked around and noticed Smalls and Yeah Yeah walking towards him. "Sorry, but we're playing ball tonight. Maybe some other time." He answered before walking away. "So, where's Squints?"

Smalls rolled his eyes while Yeah Yeah grinned. "He's drooling over Wendy Peffercorn again. One day, she's going to beat the crap out of him. And I really wouldn't blame her."

"C'mon, let's go save him. I'm sure Wendy's boyfriend will not appreciate Squints eyeballing his girlfriend." Benny commented as they walked off.

* * *

"It must be at least 100 degrees today. Man, I cannot move." Smalls commented/whined. 

He and Benny were the only two to turn up at the Sandlot, and after a miserable attempt to play ball in the heat, they decided to call it a day and lay in the shade. They had both decided to remove their shirts when they got so soaked with sweat it was uncomfortable. This, however, was causing a distraction. Neither could keep their eyes off the other. (Two nicely toned bodies glistening with sweat. Need I say more?)

"You know, I think the sand is melting into my back. And I know that's impossible." Benny claimed but didn't move to rectify the problem.

"As much as I enjoyed the whole Squints/Wendy thing, sometimes I could strangle him for getting us banned from the pool."

Benny snorted. "Tell me about it. Marcie started ranting because I couldn't 'escort' her there. Then she brought up last night. 'You're not spending enough time with me. You care more about the guys than you do me'." He mimicked before sighing. "Can I do anything right? I try to make her happy and I hurt you. I hang out with you and she rants."

Smalls smiled guiltily. "Sorry." Then his eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "When did you see Marcie?"

Benny rolled his eyes. "She turned up at my place 5 minutes before I met you."

"Quick learner. Turn up early before you make plans for the day. Well, it would work if you hadn't already made plans. What did you say?"

"Well, I said we could do something after we finish at Mr Myrtle's tomorrow. I'm thinking of telling her that she can back off. What'd you think?"

Smalls contained his smile. "If that's what you wanna do. If you like her enough, you'll make the effort."

"She doesn't like baseball. Baseball's life."

"So you'd pass up the perfect girl if she didn't believe baseball is life?"

Benny smiled. "She wouldn't be perfect then would she?"

* * *

"Alright Benny, what's wrong? You've been moping all afternoon." Benny's brother asked as he walked into Benny's room. 

Benny rolled over with a sigh. "How do you know when you're in love?"

Benny's brother smiled. "Has this got anything to do with that Marcie girl I've been hearing about?" When Benny shrugged he took it as conformation. "Well, there's no set way to know when you're in love. You just know. She's the only person you think about and you'd do something completely ridiculous just to make her happy and your heart flutters when you see her."

Benny smiled in thanks as his brother left. He then rolled back over to face the picture of him and Smalls. Did he think about Smalls all the time? _Yes_. Has he done something completely ridiculous for him? _Hell yes_. When Bebe told him to follow his heart, he knew what he had to do. He didn't question it, he just did it. Did his heart know something he didn't? Even back then?

Lastly, did his heart flutter when he saw Smalls? _Well, lately it has_.

"Oh shit."

* * *

Benny wasn't the type of person to lead a girl on. He believed you had to be honest with people. But he just couldn't admit he was in love with his best friend so he decided to continue to see Marcie. He just had to find a way to tell Smalls. Well, actually, he had to find a way not to blurt 'I love you' to Smalls as soon as he saw him. That wouldn't go down well. Not well at all. 

"Hey Benny." Smalls greeted, walking up to him. When Benny didn't move or acknowledge him, he tried again. It didn't work. So he kicked him.

"What? Oh, hey Smalls. Ready?"

The two began the short trek to Mr Myrtle's place in silence. That was until Benny finally built up enough courage to tell Smalls he was going to keep seeing Marcie.

"Hey Smalls, I uh…I thought I should let you know that I'm gonna keep seeing Marcie. I thought about what you said, and you're right. If I like her enough, I should make the effort."

Smalls cringed. He decided that he hated being right. Why did he have to open his mouth? Everything he did to stop them seeing each other backfired. Benny didn't like Marcie. That much was obvious. So why was he doing this?

"Glad I could have been of service to you." He replied as happily as he could. But Benny could tell he was hurt. He just didn't know what it meant. And he knew it was going to drive him crazy.

* * *

"Hey Marcie." Benny greeted as they met at the milk bar. 

"Hi Benny. Are you ready?"

Benny nodded and the two walked hand in hand to the auditorium. They went everyday that week. Benny would play ball with the guys until noon, then he'd spend the rest of the afternoon with Marcie. During that time, he and Smalls barely spoke. Smalls was upset over Benny's decision, and Benny couldn't stand to be around Smalls as he felt guilty. They still acted friendly towards each other, like nothing was wrong, but Yeah Yeah and Squints noticed something.

And they weren't the only ones. Mr and Mrs Smalls became concerned when Smalls became an 'egghead' again. Spending his days playing with his erector set and not out somewhere with Benny.

Benny's parents noticed a change too. While Benny spent most of the day out somewhere, he came home early and moped in his room when he was usually out with Smalls. But when asked about it, neither would say what was wrong.

The only person who didn't seem to notice the change in attitudes was Marcie. All she cared about was the fact Benny was spending more time with her.

"You know, I'm glad you're finally realising I was right. You can't hang around those guys forever. If you ask Phillips, I'm sure he can get you a spot on the Tigers. Smalls was bringing you down."

This captured Benny's attention. "What?"

"A nerd does nothing for your popularity."

"Excuse me. Smalls is _**not**_ a nerd. He's my best friend. And just for the record, I would _**never**_ play for the Tigers"

Marcie huffed. "Well then it's either him or me. It's your decision."

Benny sighed.

* * *

It was getting late by the time Benny turned up at Smalls' house. He'd spent the last few hours deciding what to tell Smalls. 

"Yo Smalls. C'mon man, we need to talk." He said through the open window.

Smalls rolled his eyes but walked out to meet him. "So where are we going?" he asked already knowing the answer.

"Sandlot."

The two walked in an uncomfortable silence, neither knowing what to say. When they reached the Sandlot, they sat underneath the tree house.

"She gave me an ultimatum. You or her." Benny told him.

Smalls eyebrows rose in surprise. "I'd ask who you picked, but that's more something Squints would do." He replied to lighten the mood. "So, more relevant question. Do you regret your choice?"

"No." Benny answered. "Do you want to know why I don't?" before Smalls could answer, Benny leaned over and kissed him. "That's why I don't regret it. I knew I was falling for you, but this week just proved it. It was hell without you." He said in a rush when they pulled apart.

Smalls smiled. "Hell is too polite a term. God, you've had me going crazy these past 2 weeks. I was beginning to think you hated me. It sounds stupid now I've said it…but it's true." He was going to say something else, but thought stuff it and kissed Benny instead.

"I could get used to this." Benny said with a grin. Smalls just shook his head and kissed him again.


End file.
